{"collection":"Native American","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/browse/nam/ca/dow/dow17.htm","path":"nam/ca/dow/dow17.htm","source_url":"https://sacred-texts.com/nam/ca/dow/dow17.htm","text":"The Dawn of the World, by C. Hart Merriam, [1910]\nTHE first fire was made by the Doctor Birds at the birth of Wek'-wek. The next fire was made by Ke'-lok the North Giant. After Ke'-lok's death and after his fire had burnt up the world and had burnt itself out, there was no fire except that of the Hul-luk mi-yum'-ko, the Star-women, which was close by the elderberry tree, way off in the east where the Sun gets up.\nO-let'-te said to his grandson, Wek'-wek: \"Now we have people, and elderberry music for the people, but we have no fire for them to cook with; the Star-women have it; we must steal it.\"\n\"How?\" asked Wek'-wek.\n\"Send Koo-loo'-loo the Humming-bird; he is faster than you. Tell him to catch a little spark and bring it quickly,\" replied O-let'-te.\n\"All right,\" answered Wek'-wek, and he sent Koo-loo'-loo to fetch the fire. Koo-loo'-loo shot out swiftly and soon reached the Star-women by the elderberry tree in the far east, in the place where the Sun gets up. Here he hid and watched and waited, and when he saw a little spark of fire, he darted in and seized it and brought it back quickly to Wek'-wek and O-let'-te. He held it tight under his chin, and to this day if you look\nunder the Humming-bird's chin you will see the mark of the fire.\nThen Wek'-wek asked: \"Where shall we put it?\"\nO-let'-te answered, \"Let us put it in oo'-noo, the buckeye tree, where all the people can get it.\" So they put it in oo'-noo, the buckeye tree, and even now whenever an Indian wants fire he goes to the oo'-noo tree and gets it.\nI have discovered fragments of a similar myth among the nearly extinct Hoo'-koo-e'-ko north of San Francisco Bay. These people state that O'-ye the Coyote-man sent Koo-loo'-pis the Hummingbird far away to the east to steal the fire; that he brought it back to Coyote-man, and that Coyote-man put it into the buckeye tree. They state also that Wek'-wek once went a long way off and was killed, and that his grandfather, O'-ye the Coyote-man, went after him and restored him to life.","title":"The Dawn of the World: Part I: Ancient Myths: How they got the Fire","type":"page"}